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| Arriving to the Monastery of Pedralbes, Barcelona |
Claire has invited The Grandma to visit the Monestir de Pedralbes, a monastery founded by James II for his wife Elisenda de Montcada in 1326 and housed by Poor Clares, the community that was founded by Saint Clare of Assisi, and her most important legacy. During her visit to the Monastery of Pedralbes, Claire and The Grandma has been remembering other important places built in honour to Saint Clare of Assisi.
Claire has remembered her last visits to the Santa Clara Convents in Palma and Naples, and The Grandma has been talking about the Santa Clara Convent in Barcelona.
Before visiting the monastery with Claire, The Grandma has studied a new lesson of her Ms. Excel course.
Chapter 11. Printing (III) (Spanish Version)
Saint Clare of Assisi (16 July 1194 – 11 August 1253, born Chiara Offreduccio and sometimes spelled Clara, Clair, Claire or Sinclair) is an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Saint Francis of Assisi.
She founded the Order of Poor Ladies, a monastic religious order for women in the Franciscan tradition, and wrote their Rule of Life, the first set of monastic guidelines known to have been written by a woman.
Following her death, the order she founded was renamed in her honour as the Order of Saint Clare, commonly referred to today as the Poor Clares. Her feast day is on 11 August.
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| Old picture of the Monastery of Pedralbes |
Very damaged during the siege of Barcelona (1713-1714) was definitively devastated by order of Philip V of Spain, as part of the Ribera district to build the citadel of Barcelona during the postwar years and some of its architectural remains were distributed in some remarkable buildings of the city. Traditionally, it is considered the first foundation of the Clarisses in the Iberian Peninsula, although its founding date has been strongly discussed.
The date of its founding of legendary and traditional character was 1233/1234 by Agnès de Peranda d'Assís, supposedly the daughter of Peranda and niece of Santa Clara d'Assís, the founder of the order- and Clara de Janua -this second would be Maria de Pisa according to other sources-, they arrived at the port of Barcelona, coming from the monastery of Saint Damià d'Assís, after embarking on Ancona and suffering a shipwreck. They arrived in a boat without rims or sails, with the idea of founding a monastery.
The first documentation places the foundation around 1236/1237 by a bula of Gregori IX confirming the foundation initiated by several women headed by Berenguera d'Antic and Guillerma de Polinyà and ten other sisters.
In 1327, a fourteenth of these clan nuns founded the Monastery of Pedralbes.
In 1691, during the French invasion, the convent left for a few days. During the Siege of Barcelona (1713-1714) the convent was very damaged and the nuns were temporarily welcomed in houses of relatives and friends with the intention of repairing the damage, which was not possible due to the destruction and devastation of a large part from the Ribera district to build the citadel of Barcelona.
More information: Santa Chiara. Religious Art in the heart of Naples
The Monastery of Pedralbes is a Gothic monastery in Barcelona, Catalonia. The name of the site in the XIV century was Petras Albas, Latin for white stones. The original name devolved into the current one.
The monastery was founded by Jaume II for his wife Elisenda de Montcada in 1326. It housed a community of Poor Clares, mostly members of noble families. The queen gave the monastery a series of privileges, including the direct protection of the city of Barcelona, through the Consell de Cent, who had the task to defend it in case of danger. Elisenda also built a palace annexed to the monastery, where she lived after her husband's death in 1327. She died there in 1367. The remains of the palace were discovered in the 1970s.
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| Visiting the cloister, Monastery of Pedralbes |
During the Catalan Revolt (1640), the nuns were expelled, but later returned. A small number of nuns still reside in the complex. The monastery was declared a national monument in 1991.
Originally the monastery was defended by a line of walls, of which today only two towers and one gate remain. The church has a single nave, with rib vaults and a polygonal apse, and houses a Gothic retablo by Jaume Huguet. The façade is characterized by a large rose window. The cloister has three floors, and a length of 40 meters, with a central garden of orange trees and palms. It is formed by wide arches on columns, whose capitals are decorated with the emblems of the Kings of Aragon and the House of Montcada.
The sepulchre of Queen Elisenda, in alabaster stone, is located in one of the cloister's wings.
Also notable is the Chapel of St. Michael, housing several fresco paintings by Ferrer Bassa. Dating to 1346, they show the influence of the Italian painter Giotto. The former dormitory previously housed a permanent exhibition of painters such as Rubens, Canaletto, Tintoretto, Velázquez and Beato Angelico.
More information: Monestir de Pedralbes
The Santa Clara Convent is located on Santa Clara Street in Palma, on the island of Mallorca. The first reference that exists in the convent of Santa Clara in Palma dates back to the 13th century, at the time of Jaume I.
In 1256, Pope Alexander IV granted permission for the creation of a new monastery in Palma, request made by clarissa, Sister Caterina, abbess of the monastery of Santa Maria de Tarragona, who wanted to send a group of nuns to the island of Mallorca to found a new convent. Alexandre IV sent a letter to the Majorcan Franciscans, in which he will assist them at all times with the new Claretian nuns who had to settle in the capital of Mallorca.
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| Claire Fontaine visited Santa Clara Convent, Palma |
In 1837 the Franciscan nuns of the Convent of the Immaculate Conception of El Olivar went to the convent of Santa Clara. In the 17th century, great reforms were made, replacing the gothic part for one of the Renaissance and almost Baroque period. By 2007, the proceedings began to restore the convent completely.
The base of the building was built on remains of Muslim origin. Over the following centuries the convent was renovated and enlarged. And as witness of the extensions, there are round archways, blinded, from civil constructions, like the house of the family Montsó.
The chapter room is from the 16th century, the cloister corridors contain gothic tombs of the abbesses. The current church is the third of the built in this convent. The four chapels on the left are rectangular with a back cover, and on the right there are several plants with a canopy cover. The cover of the rostrum has a double row with vault of three sections of edge. At the top of the altar there is an image of The Immaculate Conception and at the bottom one of Santa Clara d'Assisi. On the left side of the facade there is a quadrangular bell tower embedded in the wall, which stands out with three bodies.
The portal dates back to 1671 and is thin. The entablature has a cornice topped by a broken fronton; In the center there is a medallion that has a relief that represents the image of Santa Clara.
More information: +Mallorca
Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road.
Go forth without fear, for he who created you has made you holy,
has always protected you, and loves you as a mother.
Saint Clare of Assisi
Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road.
Go forth without fear, for he who created you has made you holy,
has always protected you, and loves you as a mother.
Saint Clare of Assisi
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